Beneath A Crimson Sky 2
by Michael The-Zorch Haney
Summary: Things are changing, Dragasoni has gone missing, the remnants of the Shangshi are at war, and mysterious forces begin to make their move. The next major epic in the story of the vampire Ranma Saotome begins.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer**_

_All characters under copyright in this derivative work are used according to Fair Use as described in Sections 107-118 of the US Copyright Act of 1971. This derivative work is offered as-is for free, no copyright infringement was intended in the making of this derivative work. All copyrighted characters are the property of their respective companies. This derivative work is under Creative Commons Share-Alike Noncommercial Unported License 3.0._

_Created using Google Drive._

Michael "TheZorch" Haney's

"**Beneath A Crimson Sky 2"**

**Foreword**

This story is a direct continuation of the first "Beneath A Crimson Sky". Why not just add another chapter rather than start a whole new story. Well, there's reasons for that. Back when I got into fanfiction I was suffering from a bout of deep depression. Writing was one of the ways I found a way to escape from the real world, and it and anime are what helped me through that dark time. I'm past all that now, I've gotten better, and I know myself a little more.

For this reason I cannot continue most of the original stories. They were written in a tone and vibe that I'm not in anymore. This is why I haven't been writing updates for a long time. I start working on my stories and suddenly I feel something blocking me. The state I was in when I wrote them is not the state I am in now, and I cannot continue them as they are. So, this is why I'm starting this next phase of the story as a sequel, and I've got a lot of new ideas.

Unfortunately, this means that I will have to abandon many of my current unfinished fic. What I'm considering is a full rewrite for most of them, but their tone and vibe will reflect the change in energy I've experienced coming out of my depression and finding a part of myself. I must attribute some of this change to spiritual teachings I've begun to follow. If you're curious look up the "Conversations with God" series by Neale Donald Walsch, also The Law of One, the Law of Attraction, and videos by Bashar on Youtube. They're changing my life for the better.

Its time I started practicing what I've been preaching. I've been helping others using these spiritual teachings and now its time I helped myself. So, as the teachings tell us "follow your highest excitement", and for me that is telling stories. They may not be the kind of stories everyone likes, but if someone gets enjoyment from them then I've done my part. You can't please everyone and that was my problem before. Its the same trap many fanfiction writers get into. They let "Canon Cops" and "Knights of the True Fiance" and etc. get to them. They allow others in change their creative vision, and as a result their story suffers and they ultimately quit writing in bitterness.

So, expect to see more from me. Thank you for waiting this long.

Namaste.

Boris Dragasoni pulled a long drag on his cigarette. It was a nasty habit, but it wasn't like it was going to kill him. Lazily he puffed out a smoke ring. His hotel room was dark, only the light from the neon sign outside shown through the windows. It wasn't a ritzy place, just a cheap hole in the wall. He could have afforded something more expensive but that wasn't his style. The big Russian vampire had stayed in far worse places.

Despite the darkness of his room, he could discern the cloud of deeper darkness which formed in one corner. He could feel unseen eyes looking at him coldly, without emotion. Had he been any other man he would have cowered in terror, yet still the sight made his skin crawl.

"What do you want?" he called out to the darkness.

"A mission we have for you," came a hushed voice from the corner. A cold, chilling whisper.

Dragasoni took another drag on his cigarette. "I heard through the grapevine about China, do you have any idea what you've done?"

"They were a threat to the Saotome," the whisper replied emotionlessly. Dragasoni just laughed at that.

"So, to protect that vampire welp you start a war in the underworld," the assassin guffawed. "The remnants of the Shangshi are in a civil war, and you've managed to stir up not only the Crimson Circle, but also the Midnight Tribunal, the Ebon Alliance, the Shadow Syndicate, and the Fey of Glenmora all at once. You'll be lucky if that doesn't cause the entire northern hemisphere to erupt into war. So much for protecting your precious Ranma."

An unseen force, without any warning, struck the vampire and knocked him sprawling from his chair. As he sat up weakly, Dragasoni could see the dark cloud had grown considerably and seemed to quiver as if angry. He knew full well what it could have done to him had it truly wanted to destroy him, and he knew full well that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Question not our methods, servant!" the darkness hissed, the voice sounding slightly louder than a whisper this time.

"What are your orders, what is my mission?" Dragasoni asked, knowing that obedience was his only option right now. Anything else would only lead to pain.

"It is our command that you go to Paris," said the dark cloud, again in a whisper.

Dragasoni was a bit startled at this. "The neutral city? What is it you want me to do there?"

"Seek out the sisters of the Black Sabbath, seek passage to Nirn," the whisper commanded.

The vampire assassin stamped out the cigarette soldering on the carpet after picking himself up and righted his chair. "Once there a servant of our master shall instruct you further," the whisper continued.

"That won't be cheap, the sisters ask a steep price," Dragasoni said, still bitter over his lost profit, but touching Ranma now was out of the question. He was crazy, but not crazy enough to directly disobey these creatures. There were things these creatures could do to him that even his own twisted mind could never imagine, let alone want to experience.

"You shall be compensated for the loss of your contract three fold," replied the whisper. Dragasoni counted out that figure quickly in his head. That was going to be a lot of money.

"Be in Paris before the next full moon," said the whisper as the dark cloud slowly receded then vanished.

"Bozhe moi," he replied to the empty room.

**Chapter 1**

Furinkan High school.

High school was something Ranma had never attended before. He want in order to fit in with human society, and to be closer to the two Tendo sisters who were still at that age. Technically, he had a Bachelor's Degree level education thanks to the Order of the Crimson Circle. The standard curriculum was boring, for him it wasn't much of a challenge, so he slept through most of his classes. Or, at least that's what everyone else though. He really didn't need much sleep, so he let his mind wander in thought.

The one key thought on his mind was Boris Dragasoni. The Russian assassin the Shangshi had sent to kill him. Ever since that night two weeks ago that had been no sign of him. That bothered Sanangi and John, they knew the old vampire better than he did, and stepping out on the mark wasn't in his M.O. From his own experience meeting the Russian for the first time he could agree.

Akane had taken to being a vampire rather well. Sanangi took over her training, and applied the same gentle touch me applied to Ranma. Which meant she took Akane out in the wood on the outskirts of town and proceeded to beat the living fuck out of her. When they returned a few days later Akane was a changed person. Only Sanangi could have tamed that shrew. Ranma tried, but all he seemed to do was piss the girl off even more than she already was.

Nabiki, she was a different story. It had been pure physical attraction for him. She was cute, had a really nice body, and he really liked her smell. Strong sexuality was in a vampire's nature, so he saw his chance with her and took it. Just like he had intended to partake of that Yuka girl, but something changed. It happened that night after he brought Akane home. After her rebirth as a vampire. After the truth of his true nature became known to the middle Tendo sister.

She wasn't afraid of him. To be honest the fact that he was a vampire seemed to draw her more towards him. Part of his was his vampiric charism, which draws humans in and makes them vulnerable. But there was more to it. Before that night, Nabiki had always kept a wall between them, but after that the wall came down and she exposed her true self to him. The world knew Tendo Nabiki as a money grubbing bitch who cared only for how much she could earn, but in truth there was so much more to her than the desire for wealth. They called her the Ice Queen, yet he knew a Nabiki that was anything but cold.

Did he love her? He wasn't sure, but he was willing to find out if it was possible. She was certainly open to expanding their relationship beyond just having sex all the time. Not that having sex was a bad thing, but their relationship would grow beyond just being purely physical in nature. They decided to take it slowly for now just to see where things lead.

The chaos of his arrival thankfully calmed down after a few days. The Hentai Horde stopped hounding Akane, especially after seeing the pounding Ranma gave Kuno. The wannabe samurai kept his distance mostly, but Ranma saw him glowering at him from across the schoolyard from time to time during lunch period, or in gym class. His first day had been flashy, he openly used magic, but now he was toning things down. Showing off would attract attention and with a threat like Dragasoni still on the loose he couldn't afford to stand out right now.

Had Ranma been a normal human being the attack on him would have left a lasting mark. Rape was mentally traumatizing for most, but Ranma was trained to resist such things. It was a part of his training to resist torture, and rape was very often used as a form of torture. It didn't stop him from being mad about it. He was mostly mad at himself for not being able to help Akane. As for the Russian, Ranma had his own ideas for how to get even. What really bothered him the most was that Dragasoni hadn't been seen since that night.

"Class, we have a new transfer student today," roused from his ponderings, Ranma raised his head. At the front of the class the teacher stood beside what at first looked like a very bishamon looking young boy. Ranma's other senses told him a different story, especially his keen sense of smell. He knew girl when he smelled one, and this was definitely a girl. And, a virgin to boot. The look on Akane's face in the seat next to him told him she too sensed it, but she was too inexperienced to really get it. There was something unusually familiar about this girl. On her back the girl had what looked like an oversized baker's peel, and a bandoleer came across her shoulder and held ever smaller baker's peels.

In a flash of motion of the girl produced, seemly out of nowhere, a large portable grill. She twirled a pair of small baker's peels in her hands with a flourish and began working on what Ranma recognized as okonomiyaki. Often mistakenly called Japanese Pizza, the dish was more a fried pancake with various toppings and sauce. The smell that wafted into his nose brought back so many memories.

"It couldn't be," he whispered, suddenly recognizing the aroma filling the classroom. With another flourish the girl in the boy's uniform tossed finished okonomiyaki around the room. As expected, many of them began to comment on how good they were.

"It is," Ranma realized, before the girl finally spoke. Akane, whose vampiric hearing was good enough hear him, shot him a curious look.

"Names Kuonji Ukyo and okonomiyaki is my game," she smiled, and most of the girls in the class swooned. Ranma chuckled to himself, they had no idea. He was suddenly taken aback when the girl looked right at him, and he saw clear recognition in her eyes. He also felt waves of resentment, almost a killing intent.

Ranma didn't have to guess why. He already knew Ukyo was girl, and he knew why she'd been crying that day when he and his father left town. After leaving the temple Ranma spent some "quality time" with his father and plucked his old man's brain for all of his secrets. Ranma knew everything, he knew how many possible iinazuke he had that might one day come calling. Ukyo numbered as one of them, though he didn't quite understand why she was dressed like a boy. He knew other things too, his father was most definitely not an innocent man.

In a flash the crossdressing chef sent another okonomiyaki flying. Ranma caught it with ease, then savoured the smell before taking a bite. The flavour was exactly as he remembered from so long ago. Ukyo had finally managed to master her father's recipe. That had been another lifetime, back when he was still human. This food would do little for him. He could eat, mostly to help him fit in with humans, but it also served to help slightly curb the Thirst just a little.

"Just like your father used to make," he said loud enough for Ukyo to hear. A hush surprise echoed around the room as everyone looked to him.

"Well, Saotome Ranma, as I live and breath," said Ukyo as she tossed the second okonomiyaki his way. He'd already finished off the first one, so his hands were free to catch the second. The sauce dribbled on this one formed words, the words of an official martial arts challenge.

Ranma sighed, "It doesn't have to be like this."

"Doesn't have to be like what?" Akane whispered at him. His eyes flashed at her warningly, too fast for anyone else other than another vampire to notice.

"Does it, Ran-chan," suddenly the grill was gone and Ukyo stood with the oversized baker's peel in her hands. "I've been searching for you for a long time. Ever since you and your father abandoned me!" The class murmured, not entirely sure what was happened. The teacher, used to this kind of drama at Furinkan, simply waited for it to either resolve itself or break out into a fight. This being Nerima he knew not to get in the way.

"I was a dumb little kid then who didn't know any better," Ranma replied to that, remaining calm. "Its oyagi you should be angry with, not me."

"LIAR!" Ranma caught a flash of metal that suddenly came at his face. It was one of the smaller baker's peels Ukyo wore on her bandoleer. The edge of the small spatula was razor sharp, and his fingers tingled from the residual feel of ki flowing through the metal.

"Ukyo if you fight me you will not win," he told her, looking serious. "A lot has changed since we last met. I have no reason to fight you, but if you continue you might not like what happens."

"Big talk, I've trained my entire life for this moment!" the crossdressing chef exclaimed. She rushed down the rows of desks to his and sung with her weapon, but by the time she got her Ranma was already on the move. He gained some air time to get above her swing, used her head as a springboard, and landed lightly on one of the open windows sills. Used to high level fights, most of the students had already ducked or scattered.

"Its too crowded in here," he told her calmly. "If you insist on this I suggest we take it outside." With that said he jumped. There was a mad rush to the windows, because they were on the second floor. The room gasped in surprise as Ranma landed outside on one foot seemingly without effort.

"Fine by me!" Ukyo shouted and followed him.

Akane didn't know what was happening. First, the teacher introduced a new boy to the class. However, this boy didn't smell right. He smelled more like her sisters did. Like a girl who just got off the rag, and smelled nothing like the other boys in the room. Then, said boy produced a full cooking grill seemingly out of nowhere and started frying up what could only have been okonomiyaki. She knew it was because she'd had once at a festival a few years back.

After the new boy shared food with the class he sent one flying directly at Ranma. The boy was named Ukyo, which was strange because Ukyo was normally a girl's name. The conversation that broke out between Ranma and the new boy was also strange. It seemed like Ranma knew him someone, and the new kid had a grudge against him.

"Does have to be like what?" she leaned over and asked him quietly. Rather than answer Ranma shot her a quick look that said plainly she shouldn't get involved. Now she was really curious about what the hell was going on.

Before she or anyone else could say anything more Ukyo threw at Ranma's head then rushed him. The whole class made a mad dash for the windows as they both jumped to the ground below. Akane watched the two run off, Ukyo chasing after Ranma. When they were out of sight, of her vampiric vision, she immediately rushed out the door and down the hall to Nabiki's homeroom.

"Ranma is in a fight with a new transfer student," she explained, after getting Nabiki's teacher to let her come out into the hall.

"Lets find out what this is about," said Nabiki and they both ran for the stairs.

Ranma had to admit Ukyo was pretty good. She had some considerable skill, for a human. He dodged blows from her giant spatula with incredible ease. To him she seemed to move in slow motion, his reflexes and reaction times were that much faster, and he was holding back. Ukyo was still a friend, a little misguided, but still a friend and he wanted to resolve this as best he could without hurting her. If it became necessary he would glamour her, but didn't want to have to resort to using his special vampiric powers to stop this sense fight.

"Why are you dressed like a boy?" the question seemed to only intensify Ukyo's anger.

"We were engaged you jackass," this he already knew. "You abandoned me, you ruined me for marriage! Nobody will have someone who was abandoned by their first iinazuke. So I gave up my femininity and trained for the day I could get my revenge!"

Ranma remembered that samurai movies were one of Ukyo's favorite pastimes. It figured she'd pick up a sense of the overdramatic, and few people were more overdramatic than the samurai of olden days. Japan was changing, the old ways were being supplanted by new ideas. It was mostly because of influences from the West, and the fact that younger generations were rejecting the harsh and inflexible ways of the older generations.

"I swore an oath to my father, to never return until we were wed or you were dead!" too late for that, Ranma thought to himself.

"Stand still and take your punishment like a man!" he could see the frustration on her face as she failed again and again to land a blow on him. He could also see the tears in her eyes, feel the anguish in her emotions. He had to stop this.

"Ukyo, stop this," he said calmly, but the girl just kept coming at him.

"Its too late for talk!" she cried aiming a cleave for his head, only to swing through empty air. She couldn't understand why she couldn't land a blow on him, she'd trained so hard and so long for this.

"I said enough!" Ranma raised his voice for the first time during the whole fight. In a flash, he grabbed the giant baker's peel from a startle Ukyo and tossed it to the side.

Ukyo's face turned pale as the weapon plowed through two big tree trunks as if they weren't there before finally splitting a large boulder in two. Before she could say anything or respond, Ranma grabbed her and she was suddenly moving so fast the air whistled in her ears.

Their fight started drawing a crowd, and Ranma didn't want this next part to have an audience. He carried Ukyo in his arms and moved with full vampiric speed to one of the athletic storage sheds on the far side of campus. He could hear the shouts of students behind him, shocked by this display of raw speed. Ranma did notice that Akane and Nabiki were indeed among the crowd.

He dropped Ukyo unceremoniously on the floor of the shed and closed the door. Quickly he drew a magical seal to keep anyone from opening it, and whirled on the crossdresser. Ukyo was already starting to back away.

"Ran-chan, wait!" she was genuinely scared now. He could see it in her eyes and feel it from her emotions.

"Shut up and listen to me," he barked, pointing at her. "I haven't seen you in years, so you show up out of the blue and attack me without even talking to me first. Without even deciding to hear my side of the story. Not even thinking that maybe I didn't understand what the hell was going on because we were little kids back then!"

"I didn't even know you were a girl until oyagi let it slip, and that wasn't too long ago!" he interrupted her as she was about to say something. She looked at him with surprise at this and seemed to visibly calm down.

"Our parents made an agreement, we were supposed to get married," he finally let her speak.

"I was supposed to come with you on your training trip, train alongside you as your bride, father even gave the family yatai cart to your father as my dowery." Ranma remembered the cart, and the fact that his father had sold it in the first big town they came to. He never intended for Ranma to ever marry Ukyo, he just wanted the money. That had been driving force behind all of the other engagements that Saotome Genma put on his shoulders. The only agreement he cared about was the one to the Tendo sisters, and if given the right opportunity he'd probably bail on that one too.

"Had I understood all this back then I would never have allowed oyagi to run off without you." he told her.

"After you left, people started to talk." Ukyo whipped a tear from her eye and looked away. "My friends in school stopped talking to me, the girls I used to hang out with stopped playing with me. Everywhere I went I could hear people talking about me in whispers."

"Because of that I'm ruined for marriage!" she was suddenly on her feet, a pair of small spatula in her hands. Ranma caught her wrists before she could attack, she resisted, but even with ki enhanced strength the difference between them was too wide.

"Says who?" she just looked away. He let one hand go and gently took her chin to make her look at him.

"And you've grown up to be so pretty too." he said with full honesty. She indeed was very pretty, despite her attempts to hide it. She was almost on par with Shampoo, the beautiful and extremely affectionate young Amazon had gotten to know back in China.

"No I'm not!" he let go of her hand and she turned away, her face turning deep red.

She gasped as he grabbed her from behind and pulled her to his chest. "Yes, you are." he said gently into her ear. He could feel her body shudder at their contact, and her blush deepened.

"There's nothing I could say that can make for all this," he said calmly. "All I can say is that I'm sorry. I was a dumb kid back then who didn't know any better. If I'd known the truth things mighta been different. It woulda been fun having you along on the trip. Who knows where things might have gone from there."

"If you want to know the truth, you aren't the only one oyagi did this to." he turned her around by her shoulders so he could look right at her.

"I found a bunch of promissory notes in his pack," which was the truth, after he forced the info from his father's mind he went through his stuff and found all of the marriage agreements all bundled together. There were a lot of them.

"So I confronted him about them, and made him talk." he exemplified this by cracking his knuckles. "One of them had the name Kuonji Hondo on them. I remembered that was your family name, so I made oyaji tell me the truth. That's when he told me you were really a girl."

"Kuonji Hondo is a my father," she told him. "How many other engagement papers were there?"

"Including ours, about thirty-five." he replied in full honesty.

"Thirty-five!" came a familiar cry from outside. Ranma rolled his eyes, released the spell on the door, and let it slide open. Akane and Nabiki quickly entered and closed the door behind them.

"How long have you two been listening?" he asked them, but he already knew the answer to that.

"Long enough,"Akane groused looking angry, though he wasn't sure if she was mad at him or not. Knowing Akane it was hard to tell.

"And you two are?" Ukyo recognized one of the girls from their class, but she'd never met the other girl before.

"Tendo Nabiki, and this is my sister Tendo Akane." Nabiki smiled at her. "We appear to be in the same boat as you." She turned to Ranma a questioning look in her eyes.

"I'm so going to turn that panda into a rug," he said. "You think Kasumi would like to have a slightly used panda rug in the living room?" Nabiki double over with laughter. Akane didn't think it was funny though. Ukyo had the look of someone who heard a joke but didn't quite get the punchline.

Akane scowled at him. "You think this is funny!?"

"No, I'm serious about the rug part." he said coldly.

"Ok, ok, lets stop and talk about this before you go and start skinning your father alive." Nabiki patted his shoulder. Contact with her calmed his anger. He took a deep breath then turned toward the three girls, his three would be iinazuke.

He shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't kill him...yet."

"Get in line, sugar." Ukyo groused, anger in her eyes again, but this time not directed at him.

"That's a long line, I could name a lot of people who want a piece of his hide for one reason or another." Ranma rubbed the back of his head. Darks, pissed off demons, and monsters he could deal with. But this mess was completely out of his element. They needed some sage advice on what to do next and Ranma had just the right person in mind.

Akane gave Nabiki a wry expression. "And daddy wants him in the family?" She put the emphasis on "him" in an angry tone, the kind only girls could really pull off.

"Our parents both trained under the same master," Ranma explained to rather confused looking Ukyo. "They supposedly made this marriage agreement before we were born, supposedly." On the last word he added air quotes.

Ukyo simply shook her head. "Any my family thinks my Uncle Kato is a scoundrel."

"So, what do we do now?" Nabiki asked, directing the question more to Ranma than anyone else.

He scratched the back of his head. "This whole mess also involves Kasumi, so we need to talk to her too. Then, we need to sit down with someone who can help us figure this whole shitshow out, and I know just the person."

"Sensei!" Akane visibly brightened up.

"Yeah," he nodded. "She'll know the best way to resolve this whole mess, and if it comes to it she's got a nice set of knives that are perfect for skinning. In fact, she might even volunteer to do the job for us." The absolutely vicious look in Ranma's eyes made Ukyo step back a bit. Her childhood friend had indeed certainly changed.

"Oh my," Nabiki sighed.

"Master Lee, you called for me?"

"Yes, Ling, I need you to send a message to Sanangi and John in Japan," Master Lee sat behind his desk deep within the Crimson Circle temple. The secretary was a pretty young Chinese girl in a short red cheongsam. She was no more than 15, to the eye, but in reality she was well over 100.

"Are we recalling them to help handle the Shangshi civil war situation?" she asked, pulling out a tablet and stylus.

"No, for the time being I need them to stay where they are," he said. "In fact, I'm reassigning them to that post indefinitely for the time being."

Ling looked a bit surprised. "Aren't they two of our best people?"

"Yes, and that's why they need to stay exactly where they are." Lee replied.

"I'll send that along, sir." Ling bowed. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all for now." she bowed again and turned to leave.

He waited for her to leave before opening up his laptop. The file the brought up was a final report of the investigation team that went through the Shangshi compound. The remains found were indeed members of the upper echelon leadership of the organization. All of the regional commanders, their generals, and the leader of the Shangshi himself. The one who put the price on Ranma's head.

It was the final part of the report he paid the most attention to. It was the part which worried him the most.

Final Report - Shangshi Compound Investigation

From: Martin Tsung, Knight of the Order of the Crimson Circle

Investigations Director

To: The Desk of Master Lee

Based on all gathered and analyzed evidence, through both scientific and arcane methods, it is the professional opinion of the Investigations Division that this attack was carried out by the Malevolence.

A level three alert has been issued to the Special Units Division.

As per standard procedures this information has been classified top secret. All other records will be remanded to the highest security vaults of the archives, and will be sealed. All further investigation as per standard procedure will be halted and all non-classified materials have been secured for archiving and/or disposal.

"The Malevolence," he read out loud. "So, I was right. He is the one." He brought up a map of Japan and zoomed down into Nerima-ku.

"Dammit," he growled and left his office. He stormed into the reception are where Ling was working behind an array of 4k monitors.

"Ling, cancel that message," he told her. "I know its not the right time for me to leave, but I need you to book me a flight to Tokyo. The sooner the better."

"Alright, it was sent yet, I think I can get you flight in the morning." she said looking at her screens.

"That'll have to do," he told her, then what he said next eyes boggle. "Also, I want a Slayer brought up to my office. Katana type, with a sheath, and a carrying case. Its to be issued out to Saotome Ranma as its user, per my direct order, and I want it up here before I leave tomorrow."

"A Slayer?" she gaped with surprise.

"I know they're usually assigned to knights, but this is an unusual situation." he explained, knowing that Ling would carry out his order. He did know that the girl was taken aback by the request, so some explanation would put her at ease. She was very good and loyal secretary, the best he's ever had, so he owed her that much.

""I'll put a rush on it with the guys down in the armory." she said setting to work.

"Thank you," he patted her on the head and the girl blushed profusely.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

_View Chapter 1 for Copyright and Fair Use Disclaimer_

Michael "TheZorch" Haney's

"**Beneath A Crimson Sky 2"**

**Chapter 2**

"So, that's the situation."

After they arrived home, Nabiki immediately talked Kasumi into asking Ukyo for okonomiyaki cooking tips. This kept Ukyo busy long enough for him to explain things to Sanangi in the dojo. The ebony princess stood calm as he explained about the engagement, when he finished she drew a particularly wicked blade out of her robes.

"I agree, we should skin the panda."

Ranma shook his head, "Nah, he ain't worth it. So, what do you think about this"? He could sense the subtle change in Sanangi's stance which usually meant she was deep in thought.

She put the knife away, "First, your father has the brains of a baboon's ass. And second, I'm not certain. Which engagement takes precedent, which one came first?" That was an easy one to answer, Ranna knew this one for some time now.

"The Tendo agreement was made before I was born." he told her. Sanangi nodded and rubbed her chin.

He watched her walk around the dojo as she thought, then she turned to him. "It's his responsibility, not yours. You were a child when the agreement was made by your father, and he was the one who broke it not you."

Ranma agreed, "Yeah, there's no way I'm taking the blame for something he did."

"He needs to pay the dowry back." Sanangi added.

Ranma shrugged, "That yatai cart is long gone years ago. And, pay Ukyo's family back with what money? I'm not going to give him a loan." All members of the order were paid, even initiates like him were paid rather well. The pay was for expenses like travel costs, living arrangements, and etc. His father didn't know it, but he had a substantial sum saved up. There was no way he was going to share any of it with him. The man would just drink it all away.

"Make him get a job," she said. "Make him pay off his own debts for once."

Ranma almost laughed, "That would be a fitting punishment, making him do honest work for a change." Ranma remembered many occasions where his father promised work for food, and often ran off leaving him to do the work.

"Honestly, love, that man is becoming a weight around your neck." he couldn't argue with that. But, for bad or worst the man was his pop. He wasn't a bad person, just very stupid and too greedy for his own good. Too much of his former sensei rubbed off on him, except for the ultra-perversion part. Ranma wasn't sure how he'd handle his dad being a mega-pervert.

He shrugged, "I intend to eventually leave him here, if and when I move on from this place. He likes it here with his friend." That day was very far off, but he'd been considering cutting his father loose at some point. It was for the man's own good considering his own line of work. Genma might be a good martial artist, but the things he fought on a frequent basis could pull him apart like taffy.

That seemed to satisfy her, "Good, he's your father but he's trouble and you don't need to be dragging that behind you everywhere you go." Ranma nodded in agreement.

"Thanks sensei." he hugged Sanangi and went back to the house.

In the living room Ukyo had her portable grill out. Kasumi was seated behind it baker's peel in hand, and sizzling on the hot surface was a perfectly round and delicious looking okonomiyaki.

"Wow," he heard Ukyo gasp. "Sugar you're a natural at this! I've never seen anyone catch onto the nuances of okonomiyaki cooking so quickly." The young woman's eyes were beaming, like a martial arts master who stumbled upon a prodigy worthy enough to learn their secrets.

"Oh my," Kasumi blushed. "This is my first time making it."

"Wait, this is your first time and you're already cooking like a master!?" He almost laughed as Ukyo nearly passed out.

He loathed to interrupt this scene, but Ranma wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. He wanted to have his friendship with Ukyo back without the engagement hanging around his neck like a noose. It wouldn't be fair to Nabiki either, someone whom he was growing very attached to.

"Hey, Ucchan." he went out onto the engawa and sat down at the edge. Sunlight glitters off the water in the koi pond. She soon came and sat beside him, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

"So, you talk to this friend of yours?" she asked, know he was going to seek advice. Ranma nodded.

"Sanangi, she was my sensei." he told her, which was true. Now she was training Akane, which freed him up so he could continue the search for the Russian. Besides, Sanangi provided the kind of "positive" reinforcement Akane needed. Nothing calmed a high strung girl better than a good ass kicking, by another girl.

"Yeah," he began, trying to figure out how best to say this without alienating her. "Look, what my pop did to you and your family was wrong. And, you aren't the only ones he's done this to, believe me." He rolled his eyes when he said that.

"So, mine wasn't the only agreement he made?" he nodded, feeling the waves of emotions coming off of her. If she wasn't so angry she'd be sobbing.

"No, no it wasn't." he knew exactly how many, and that eventually he'd have to contend with them at some point. Yes, arranged marriages were pretty old fashioned in Japan, but a lot of old traditional families took them seriously. Most of the people his father scammed were from old traditional families.

"Just come out and say it Ranchan."

He hated having to do this. "You are my best friend, you know that." She nodded, her eyes started getting misty, he noticed a few tears welling up.

"You're in love with her, that girl." she looked over her shoulder and Ranma followed her gaze. Nabiki stood just inside the shoji doors, her cheeks flushed red. He looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Was I that obvious?" he asked, still looking at Nabiki.

Ukyo sighed, "It wasn't hard to miss, sugar." The smile on Ukyo's face was contrasted by the tears in her eyes.

Ranma sighed, "Goddamn you pops." He stood and beckoned both girls to follow him. Moments later they were in the dojo. Ranma went around and closed each of the shoji doors.

"Wait here," he closed the last door behind him. He returned minutes later with his father, whom he knew was putting up one hell of a resistance against his glamouring power. It was the first time he'd seen his father actually resist him with such ferocity.

"Pop, this is Ukyo," he closed the door and waved his hand towards the girl in question. "You remember her, don't you?" The man's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, he looked like he was about to dart from the room.

Trying to keep his composure, Ranma grabbed the front of his father's gi. "You did something to Ukyo and her family, and you are going to make things right." The panicked look in Genma's eyes put a smile on Ranma's face. Mentally, though, Ranma was pushing back hard. He really did not want to do this.

Ranma turned, focused his glowing yellow eyes on Ukyo and said, "Do not remember this." Ukyo swooned but Nabiki caught her.

"What are you doing?" Nabiki asked, a worried edge to her voice.

"Something that needs to be done." Ranma replied, then lunged forward and drove his fangs into Genma's neck. The big martial artist gargling something unintelligible and his body convulsed. The blood of a relative is one of the sweetest nectar for a vampire, and Ranma fought hard to control his darker instincts to stay in control. This was his ultimate test, one he passed as he pulled himself back and resisted the need to drink every last drop of the sweet crimson ambrosia.

Ranma clasped his father's face in his hands and brought his forehead close to his. "Obey!" he commanded out loud and in Genma's mind and this time the man was unable to resist. There were few who could break free of this kind of magic.

"Pop, you are going to work to pay off the dowry you stole from Ukyo's family." Ranma stepped back, Genma's face was blank for a few moments, then he seemed to suddenly become aware of his surroundings.

"You will also apologize to her for what you've done, and write a letter of apology to her family." he added.

"Yes master!" Genma shouted emphatically with a deep respectful bow. Ranma saw the shocked, borderline horrified look on her face.

"I'm sorry," he said, turning to face her. "I should have warned you. Please, don't look at me like that." He was scared that he might have just lost her, but the change in her expression told him his words had reassured her.

"What, what did you do?" she swallowed before speaking.

Ranma stuck a thumb back in Genma's direction. "I enthralled him."

"Enthralled, wait, you can do that?" she looked at him wide eyed.

"Yeah, but it isn't something we do lightly," he explained. "It is one of those last ditch, no other option sort of things. We only do it unless there is no other recourse." She nodded in understanding.

"This goes beyond our ability to glamour the mind," he further explained. "This is a complete domination of a person's will. Pops will obey anything I tell him now, no matter what it is he will do it without question, without complaint, and he'll literally kill himself in an effort to complete whatever it is I tell him to do. Now you understand why we rarely use it."

"Speaking of which," he turned back to his father. "Pops, you will do what I told you, but you will not push yourself. You'll eat three times a day and sleep all night so you are rested for the next day. If you get sick tell me and I will allow you to rest to recover. Do you understand?"

"Yes master, I understand." Genma answered nodding with a smile.

"Call me Ranma, only call me master when we are alone."

Genma bowed, "Yes Ranma!"

"Wow, you weren't kidding, so he'll do anything you ask?" Ranma nodded and he could literally hear the gears turning in Nabiki's head.

"Don't even think about it!" he pointed at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He had to nip this in the bud fast.

She look at him shocked, "What?"

"You know what, besides I'm not putting my lips on Kuno's neck, who knows where he's been."

**Somewhere in Africa**

"Where the hell am I now!?"

**Elsewhere in Tokyo**

"Any word yet, Vera?"

"Yes, your majesty, it is confirmed the Moon Clan has arrived in Japan."

"So, he is here, in Tokyo?"

"Yes, if they are here then so is he, but it doesn't appear that they have found exact where he is yet."

"Has the Eight Elite arrived?"

"Yes, princess, Wolfgang is coordinating with them now."

"This has to end, either we end him or we let the Moon Clan do it, but either way his agenda has to be stopped."

"It should be your responsibility to put him down, princess, he is your grandfather."

"I know, but this is getting in the way of our other plans."

"Speaking of which, we won't be getting any support from the Three Clans for this operation."

"I wasn't expecting any, they secretly support grandfather's ideology so why would they oppose him and they've made their opinion of the bund project perfectly clear."

"There is one other detail, I do not know if it is related to us."

"What is that?"

"The Grandmaster of the Order of the Crimson Circle has been seen at Tokyo Airport, and I've been told Dragasoni was seen in Tokyo as recent as last week, that cannot be a coincidence."

"And now the Revenants are here, this could complicate things."

"The Crimson Circle has no beef with you, your majesty."

"True, but I wonder what they'd think of my plan for Tokyo Landfill number zero?"

"We will have to cross that bridge once we get there, I supposed, princess."

"Get Nelly, Nella, and Nero ready, we're moving out, and don't forget to bring extra shade jell."

"At once, princess."

**On a train somewhere between Osaka and Tokyo**

The man watched the child sitting across from him. She was but twelve years old in appearance, but Baron knew appearances were deceiving. To human eyes she was a strikingly beautiful young girl just blossoming into womanhood. Fair skin, ankle length hair as white as snow, and blood red eyes. She was dressed in one of her favorite outfits, a black Victorian style lolita goth dress with white hose, matching black shoes, and a black bow tried in her long hair. People couldn't help but stare, not because she stood out like a sore thumb, but because of what she was. How could they know, they'd never understand.

"What?" she caught him watching her and Baron looked away. Her voice was surprisingly mature for someone of her apparent age.

"Is there something on my face?" she scowled, rubbing her cheeks.

"No, I was just thinking." Baron shook his head.

"You were thinking awfully hard," she regarded him with a knowing smile. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were becoming a lolicon."

"Hey!" Baron spotted more than one angry look in his direction.

The girl laughed, the sound was like a small bell. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so what were you thinking about?" She set her head on her hand in that tilted way that told him she was thinking.

Baron looked to the window, the landscape of Japan slowly raced by in the distance. "I already know you can feel it, if I do you do. We're headed into something, something big."

Her expression turned serious. "I've felt it for some time now. Threads of fate and causality are converging into one place. Somewhere in Tokyo."

"Then, given our circumstances wouldn't it be a good idea to be somewhere else?" he wondered why she'd taking them into the middle of something big given their current situation.

She shook her head, "No, our fate is wound up along with it. Whatever is going to happen we are already fated to be there when it happens."

"Do you know what it is?" he knew she wasn't omniscient, but sometimes she acted like she was and that infuriated him. It wasn't as if he could do anything about it, though.

"No, reading the future is difficult, it's always in motion." she frowned.

Baron folded his arms. "I thought you could see the future by looking at the energy of the now." She nodded.

But she said, "The energy of the now is in such flux it is difficult to see." She closed her eyes, he could see a little bit of light shining from around her eyelids. He looked around, making sure nobody else noticed.

"I see someone about your age who is about to have a great responsibility placed on his shoulders," she said, eyes still closed. "I see another, she is young but not young and she already carries a great weight upon hers. I see a man, cloaked in darkness, caught in a trap of his own making. A young girl, your age, in love, she will need to make a decision that will change her life and there will be no going back. Another, a boy, your age, he is directionless, his fate cannot be known, yet I see him playing a role in what is about to happen. Another, he is a man, but he is also a monster, his role is not clear."

She opened her eyes, looking physically drained. "Vague imagery, nothing was perfectly clear. Whatever is going to happen we need to be there."

"Fine," he acquiesced. "But if things go sideways in a big way I'm getting us out of there." He had to protect her, not that she needed protecting, but if anything happened to her it would also happen to him.

She looked him straight in the eye, like she was peering into his soul, and Baron felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, "If this goes badly, there won't be anywhere to run to."

**To be continued...**


End file.
